Big cat spotted in Argyll

kiang said:
What do you all think?

To me the long body and the tail being held parallel to the body indicate a non domestic act, correct me if i'm wrong, don't domestica cats travel with their tails upward?
Click to expand...

Am trying recall my own cats and I think they walk with tail and down depending on mood.

I think its a shocking photo, and should of been clearer being clear daylight, also it mentions he typed something as well? where is this evidence?
 
Judging by the distance between the rail-way tracks, I would not say this is any larger than a domestic cat. People find it increasingly difficult to judge scale the further away they are, so it would be an easy mistake to make.
 
I agree with redpanda. Railway tracks are 4ft 8inches apart, so this cat is the size of a normal cat. Domestic cats hold their tails up and out, whereas big cats tend to hold them down. The cat in this video holds it up and out - it also swishes it while walking, which is seen more in domestic cats than wild ones.

Although I do believe fully there are/were escaped big cats in Britain (A lynx was shot near my house soon after Riber Castle was shut down), unfortunately I don't think this is one...
 
In addition, the tail is too short for big cats.

Tail length is a good way to tell domestic cats on dozens of these photos of "escaped big cat with no reference to compare size".
 
Jurek7 said:
In addition, the tail is too short for big cats.

Tail length is a good way to tell domestic cats on dozens of these photos of "escaped big cat with no reference to compare size".
Click to expand...

Thanks, I forgot about that! :p
 
kiang said:
Just down the road from me in Helensburgh an off duty police dog handler filmed, what looks to be a large black cat on the railway line.

What do you all think?

To me the long body and the tail being held parallel to the body indicate a non domestic act, correct me if i'm wrong, don't domestica cats travel with their tails upward?

Kiang, for what it's worth, I have seen feral cats in this country with their tails held parallel to the ground when walking, also many feral cats here tend to grow much larger than their domestic cousins, another thing I have seen is some with very bushy tails just like the Scottish wildcat with even the same colour and markings
Click to expand...
 
zoogiraffe said:
Almost nearly but not quite they actually measure 4Ft 8 1/2inches apart,but if Brunnel had his way they would have been 7Ft 0 1/4inches.
Click to expand...

I know its 4ft8 1/2 - I just didnt think the 1/2inch was important for my point! :D
 
Completely off-topic

zoogiraffe said:
Almost nearly but not quite they actually measure 4Ft 8 1/2inches apart,but if Brunnel had his way they would have been 7Ft 0 1/4inches.
Click to expand...

Funny you should post that, my dad is a railway historian and spent many years collecting Brunellian railway track!

Anyway, back to a big cat spotted in argyll.
 
It must have been a slow news day in the U.K. for this to get any publicity at all. Look at the size of the railroad tracks - it's just a domestic cat walking down the tracks. Why would any news agency publish this?
 
Arizona Docent said:
It must have been a slow news day in the U.K. for this to get any publicity at all. Look at the size of the railroad tracks - it's just a domestic cat walking down the tracks. Why would any news agency publish this?
Click to expand...

The BBC is steadily going down hill, they had a news story on an Atheist camp and whether it was controversial or not! :rolleyes:
 
I don't know how they can compare the length of the cat with the width of the tracks and come up with the conclusion it is 4 ft long- wishful thinking?

If the cat stood crosswise between the tracks its BODY length would be less than half that distance- so about 2 ft- average size for adult domestic cat? Walking calmly along the rail the way it does, perhaps because it is warm or smooth(or both), indicates to me this is a familiar routine too.
 
I agree, it is a domestic cat. One thing that always puzzles me with cryptic animal photos, is that they are all of such poor quality. Why don't experienced photographers ever see mystery animals?
 
Looks almost exactly like my black moggy - in fact it's been mentioned to me that he could pass for a Black Panther type thing if photographed in the right way (being a big boy), and he has the knack of looking bigger when further away.
 
bongorob said:
I agree, it is a domestic cat. One thing that always puzzles me with cryptic animal photos, is that they are all of such poor quality. Why don't experienced photographers ever see mystery animals?
Click to expand...

That has always puzzled me too- always grainy and obscure, never good enough to say exactly what it is. Someone, somewhere should have produced some definitive shots of Big Cats by now, if they do exist in the UK.

There was a book some years ago about 'mystery big cats' living on moorland in South Wales. It contained a photo of a so-called 'wild cat'- actually a very large tabby cat with white markings-eating bait in a garden. Certainly a very clear photo but detracting from the theory of the existence of such creatures.
 
It Aint no big cat!

Apart from stating the obvious, and as you all have rightly said so far, this is not a big cat or some giant exotic feline. The film or photographs are always fuzzy and out of focus and with this film, the MOD Police dog handler zoomed in and his camera has used the digital zoom rather than the optical, which makes this footage somewhat useless. When you freeze frame the footage, you see that the "animal" squats down for a brief moment and sprays/pee's on the weeds. Again by freezing the image you can measure the "animal" by using the heads of the weeds (looks like common hogweed) and by using the timber sleepers, which in this case, the "animal" measures 2.5 sleepers. - The animal is we all know is a large domestic cat, most likely a cat that has been dressed.
It's a pitty that the MOD Police dog-handler made the assumption that everyone else does, it's black/sand-coloured and its big, so it must be a big cat...The brain sees what it wants to see and in this case, a wee domestic cat that has made a name for itself.. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top